Lighting device with supporting ledges and connecting boxes



United States Patent [54] LIGHTING DEVICE WITH SUPPORTING LEDGES AND CONNECTING BOXES 1 Claim, 9 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 200/51, 339/75 [51] Int. Cl H0lr 13/70 [50] Field of Search ZOO/61.58,

51; i74/(Inquired); 240/78; 339/21, 215, 22, 22b, 22T, 23, 75(ind digests), 174, 75(ind digest) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,743,423 4/1956 Parks 339/21 3,150,908 9/1964 Verrone 339/22T 3,337,835 8/1967 Seidow 339/22 Assistant Examiner-M. Ginsburg Att0rney- Ernest G. Montague ABSTRACT: An illuminating device which comprises hollow carrying rails to be secured in, on or at a distance from a securing face. The hollow carrying rails being open in lateral direction and conducting wires and a grounding wire are received in the hollow chamber defined by the carrying rails and accessible from the side. Terminal boxes support lighting units and include a head portion received by the carrying rails. The terminal boxes receive a plurality of spring tongs projecting from the head portion and serve in pairs as holding tongs, contact tongs and a grounding tong operatively connectable with the grounding wire, a cam shaft is turnable by means of a switch member sitting on the outside of the terminal box, to transfer all the tongs into an engaging operative and into an inoperative position, respectively. The cam shaft assumes an inoperative and three further operative positions. The first of the three operative positions provides a prelocking position of the holding tongs and a contact position of the grounding tong. The second of the three operative positions provides a final clamping position of the holding tongs, while maintaining the contact position of the grounding tong, and the third of the three operative positions provides, in addition to the positions of the tongs in the second of the three operative positions, a contact engagement of the conducting wires in the carrying rails.

PATENIEunznzslsm 355L617 I saw 1 ur 4 gig/VENIOR PATENTEU DEE29 I970 SHEET 3 [IF 4 FIG.3

INVENI'OR WWW ' snm u or 4 INVENTOR kw w The present invention relates to an illuminating device with carrying rails and terminal boxes, in general, and to such illuminating device which includes hollow carrying rails to be secured in, on or spaced apart from a securing face, which car- 'ying rails are open towards one side and receive in their holow space conducting rails accessible from one side and which ire equipped with terminal boxes carrying lighting units, vhich terminal boxes penetrate into thecarrying rails with a etofi head part and each of the terminal boxes being :quipped with a plurality of spring tongs, in pa rticular.

The spring tongs, projecting laterally from the setoff head an in pairs, serve as holding tongs and contact tongs and are :quipped further with a grounding tong cooperating with a ground wire in the conducting rail, whereby all tongs are transformable into an engagement or an inoperative position by a cam roller switchable by means of a switch member sitting on the outside of the terminal box.

Such illuminating devices are particularly applied in large halls, as department stores, museum or the like. They have the advantage, that the terminal boxes for the illuminating devices can beinserted and clamped therein on the hollow carrying rails secured, for instance, at the ceiling of thehall at any position. In connection with this illuminating device, it is even possible to vary a lighting arrangement by releasing, displacing orreclamping the terminal boxes. This case occurs, for example, if the objects of display are subjected to a new arrangement in a museum hall.

The known illuminating device of the type mentioned above has in the setoff head part of the terminal box two or two pairs of contact tongs, which can be transferred by rotation of the switch memberfrom its inoperative position within the terninal box into an operative position. They enter then at the end faces of the head part of the terminal boxand reach thus the conducting rails of the carrying rails, whereby the electrical connection to the illuminating device is brought aboutQln the vertical longitudinal center axis, these terminal boxes have a pair of holding tongs, which emerge on opposite sides of the head part and which cooperate with the metallic carrying rail. These tongs serve in the known illuminating'device simultaneously as holding tongs and as grounding contacts. This safety of the terminal boxes in the carrying rails is not satisfactory, because, by lateral pressure, pull or tipping, the terminal boxes can be pressed out in spite of the holding tongs from the carrying rails.

In the copending patent application of Heinz Seelbach, Ser. No. 818,644 filed on Apr. 23, 1969, it has been disclosed that for avoidance of these drawbacks of the known illuminating devices, the cam roller has, in addition to this inoperative position, two further switching positions one of ,which moves the holding tongs alone into a prelocking position, while in the last switching position the holding tongs are transferred into their final locking position and simultaneously the contact tongs are transferred into their engaging position on the conducting rails.

By these totally three switching positions,-the manipulation of the illuminating device is appreciably improved. in the inoperative tirst position of the cam roller neither the holding tongs, nor the contact tongs project from the head portion of the terminal boxes. One can, therefore, in this first position, as it has been done until now, insert the head part of each terminal box from the open side into the hollow carrying rails.

lf now the switching roller is transferred into the second switching position, then all holding tongs alone, not, however, also the contact tongs, are transferred into aprelocking position. This prelocking position means, that the holding tongs enter though in recesses of the hollow carrying rail coordinated thereto, however; they are not yet securely pressed on. One is thereby put into the position, to insert one or a plurality of terminal boxes at first loosely, however, safely, against fallout into'the carrying rails, so, that one can displace the same at will. The electrical connection-is thereby not yet established.

Only in the third and last switching position of the cam roller, not only are the holding tongs rigidly pressed towards the carrying rail, in order to lock the terminal boxes in their prevailing position within the hollow carrying rails by resilientclamping, rather in the third switching position also the contact tongs enter into their engagement position on the contactroller which is coordinated to the grounding tong, runs ahead relative to the switching cams for the contact'tongs such, that during the transfer from the second switching into the third switching position, at first the grounding tong and only thereafter the contact tongs are transferred into their operative position.

By these measures, the functions of the individual tongs are better separated from each other, than it was possible before. The holding tongs, serving until now simultaneously as grounding contacts, perform now only the holding tasks, while only the separate grounding tongs, formed as face contacts, serve an electrical protection task. The mentioned arrangement of the switching tongs has thereby'the particularly advantageous effect that, upon insertion of each terminal box into a carrying rail by the grounding tong running ahead, at first a safety grounding is brought about, before the contact tongs become effective, which clamp the illuminating body electrically to the conduit rails.

This formation and arrangement in accordance with the previous proposal of the applicant in the copending patent application of the inventor, Ser. No. 818,644, filed Apr. 23, 1969, constitutes, relative to the previous illumination device, an appreciable advancement. It performs also outstandingly in connection with a horizontal arrangement of the carrying rails. If, however, the carrying rails are provided in vertical arrangement at a wall or the like, it shows then, that the terminal boxes, if their holding tongs'are disposed in their prelocking their own'weight. Yet,-also in case of horizontally disposed carrying rails, it can .be undesirable, if the terminal boxes are in their carrying rail selectively displacable, however, providing not yet any protection grounding.

It is one object of the present invention, to provide an illuminating device with carrying rails and terminal boxes, wherein the hollow carrying rails are to be secured in, at or spaced apart from a securing face, which carrying rails are open towards one side and receive in their hollow space conducting rails accessible from one side and are equipped with the terminal boxes carrying lights. The terminal boxes engage with a setoff head part the carrying rails, and each of which is equipped with a plurality of spring tongs, which projecting laterally from the setoff head portion in pairs serve as holding tongs and contact tongs, as well as are equipped with a grounding tong cooperating in the conduit rail with agrounding conduit, whereby all tongs are transferable into an engaging operating or an inoperative position .each by means of a cam roller switchable by means of a switching member sitting on the outside of the terminal box.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an illuminating device with carrying rails and terminal boxes,

' assured within the carrying rails, whereby, however, already a prelocking position of the holding tongs and a contact position o f a separate grounding tong, the second switching position performing, while maintaining the contact position of the grounding tong with an end clamping position of the holding tongs, and performing the last switching position with additional contact provision of the contact tongs on the conduit rails.

The decisive advantage of the subject matter of the present invention is to be seen in the fact, that first, as until now, in the vantage even then, when the carrying rails are not horizontal,

rather inclined or vertical. The grounding tong of the terminal box disposed in contact position brings about in each case that, in case of a horizontal, inclined or vertical arrangement of' the carrying rails, the terminal boxes cannot, unintentionally or by themselves, be displaced within the carrying rails.

If the cam roller is transferred to the second switching position, the contact position of the grounding tong is retained and, thereby, also the protection grounding. Simultaneously,

however, also the holding tongs are transferred into their end clamping position, in which they lock safely the terminal boxes within the carrying rails against any movement. Only upon shifting'the' cam roller into its last switching position, also the contact tongs of the terminal boxes reach additionally the conducting wires of the carrying rail.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1a, 1b, 10, Id and 1e are elevations, partly in section, disclosing different securing possibilities of the illuminating device designed in accordance with the present'invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic elevation of the switching cams pro- 'vided within the. terminal box for the holding tongs, the contact tongs and the grounding tong in a pulled-apart state and in inoperative position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic showing of the arrangement disclosed 'in FIG. 2, however, shown in the second switching position;

FIG. 4 is a showing of the same structural parts of the terminal box indicating a third switching position; and

FIG. 5 is the same arrangement as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, however, indicating the last switching position.

Referring now to the drawings, the illumination device comprises two main parts, namely a supporting rail A and a terminal box B. FIGS. 10, lb, 1c, Id and le disclose how the supporting rail A and the terminal boxes B can be secured in, on or spaced apart from a securing face. FIG. 1a discloses the securing of the supporting rail A below a room ceiling, whereby the terminal box B carries a spot light C. FIGS. lb and lie permit recognition how the supporting rail A can be secured to suspended ceilings. The supporting rail A in accordance with FIG. 1b has a supplemental profile 11 with a flange Ila each directed in outward direction, which flange 11a can interengage the profile 11 in the manner of a groove and tong in grooves of ceiling plates D. In FIG. 1c these ceiling plates D are merely mounted on a lateral flange Ila of this supplemental profile 11. FIG. 1d shows a suspension of a supporting rail A and of a terminal box 8 by means of a pendulum tube E and FIG. 1e finally discloses the securing of a supporting rail A to the ceiling.

The supporting rail, as shown in FIGS. 10, 1b, 10, Id and 1e, comprises, in the embodiment shown by example only, two rail parts A and II of which the rail part A has a generally U- shaped or omega-shaped section. The rail part A assumes in its inner hollow space accessible from below by a longitudinal slot two rails of insulating material 12 and 13, for instance, of synthetic material, each of which has a longitudinal groove 12a, which points towards each other and to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the 'supportingrail part A and eacliof which receives a conduit rail 14. These conduit rails 14 extend over the entire length of the supporting rail part A and are connected to the current network and thus feed current. Near the edges of the slot opening pointing downwardly the supporting rail part A has a groove l5 passing through in longitudinal direction. The two grooves 15 point towards each other and to the vertical longitudinal center plane of the supporting rail part A, respectively. The supporting rail profile 11 serving as a cover covers the supporting rail part A in' upward direction. The supporting rail parts A and 11 are connected together, for instance, by screws (not shown).

Each terminal box B hasa generally parallelopiped basic configuration, however, is atits upper head end 17 cooperating with the supporting rail A'setoffsteplike as to its width and has thereby in the head part 17 a narrower width than that of the main part. At the sidewalls of the head part of the terminal box B bores are providedthrough, which bores end parts of, for instance, five tongs 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, can project from the inside towards the outside FIGS. 2 to 5). The two outer tongs 19 and 20 serve as so-called holding tongs. The holding tongs 19 and 20 have, as can be recognized from FIGS. 2 to 5, an angularly shaped end portion, with which they cooperate with the two grooves 15 in case the terminal box B is inserted into the supporting rail part A.

In the center of one of the two side faces of the terminal box B a tong 21, formed as a flat contact, is provided, which tong 21 cooperates with a metallic blank inner faceof the supporting rail part A,'in case the supporting box B is inserted into the supporting rail A and which tong 21 serves as a grounding contact. If thus the supporting rail A comprises, for instance, anodized light metal, then these contact faces on the supporting rail part A become electrically conducting by removal of the anodized layer. V 4 H Within the range of the outer holding ton gs 19 and 20 and the grounding fiat contact tong 21 disposed in the center, in the example, two additional tongs 22 and 23 are provided, which serve as contact tongs and cooperate with both conducting rails 14 of the supporting rail A. The contact tongs 22 and 23 are disposed on the side of the terminal box- B remote from the holding tongs I9 and 20 This has the purpose of dividing uniformly the occurring forces upon later spreading apart of the contact tongs 22 and 23 and of holding tongs 1'9 and 20. The contact tongs 22 and 23 are exactly as the holding tongs 19 and 20 and contrary tothe grounding flat contact 21 equipped with outwardly directed angular formations.

The holding tongs l9 and 20, thecontact tongs '22 and 2 and the grounding tong 21 extend, as can be ascertained best from FIGS. 2-5, from the step-shaped setoff head portion 17 of each terminal box B up to its lower part, where the holding tongs 19 and 20 are secured, while the grounding tong 21 and the contact tongs 22 and 23 are equipped with terminal clamps 27 (FIG. la). These terminal clamps 27 serve the electrically conducting connection of the grounding tong 21 and of the contact tongs 22 and 23 with the actual illuminating body C, which in known manner is received or carried by the terminal box B. For this purpose, each terminal box has at its bottom a terminal mouth (not shown) for the feeding wires 16 to the illuminating body C (see FIG. 1a).

Between the end parts of the grounding tong 21, of the holding tongs 19 and 20 or of the contact tongs 22 and 23', in the head part 17 of the terminal box B and its securing means 26 and 27, a cam roller 28 is provided in the terminal box B, which cam roller 28 has a special switching cam 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 for each of the tongs 1Q, 20, 21, 22 and 23, respectively. The cam roller 28 is rotatable from the outside by means of a switching member 34 and in particular into four different positions which can be locked in a known manner, which positions are indicated in FIGS. 2 to 5 of the drawings.

The showings in FIGS. 2 to 5 are chosen such, that for each tong and for each switching cam of the cam roller a particular showing has been chosen, in order to improve the overall view of the structure. It is necessary to visualize the arrangement such, that all individual showings must be turned for 90 out of 5 the plane of the drawing sheet, whereby the point-dotted line is the joint switching cam axis 28 for all switching cams 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33.

In the first position (FIG, 2), the cam roller 28 with its switching earns 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33, is disposed in a zeroor inoperative position. In this switching position, all switching cams have their lowest height relative to the cam roller axis 28. The holding tongs 19 and 20, the grounding tong 21 and the contact tongs 22 and 23 are disposed thereby and due to their self-resiliency such at their switching cams 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33, that neither the grounding tong 21 nor the holding tongs 19 and 20 and also not the contact tongs 22 and 23 project laterally out of the head part 17 of the terminal box B. In this position, the head part 17 of the terminal box B can be inserted without any difficulty into the slot of the supporting rail part A.

In the second position (FIG. 3), the cam roller 28 is switched forward for one switching step. By this performance, the cams 29 and 33 of the two holding tongs l9 and 20 and the switching cam 31 of the grounding tong 21 have advanced so far, that the grounding tong 21 approaches the blank inner face of the supporting rail A, whereby the protective grounding is brought about. The two holding tongs l9 and 20 enter partly into the grooves of the supporting rail A, however, only to such extent, that between the front end edges of the angularly shaped end parts of the holding tongs l9 and and the base of the groove 15 still some free space remains. In the switching position according to FIG. 3 is thus the terminal box B grounded for protection. Furthermore, within the supporting rail A, it can still be at will moved back and forth, in order to be able to be brought to any desired position of the supporting rail.

In the third switching position, in accordance with FIG. 4, the cam roller 28 has again performed a switching step with the consequence that, while retaining the protective grounding by the grounding tong 21, the two holding tongs 19 and 20 can now be transferred into their end locking position. In this position, the holding tongs 19 and20 are pressed forcibly into the base of the grooves 15, whereby the terminal boxes B are reliably locked against any displacement within the supporting rail A.

In the fourth switching position, finally, (FIG. 5), additionally the contact tongs 22 and 23 are pressed towards the conducting rails 14 by the cams and 32 of the cam roller 28, whereby the illuminating device C operatively connected with the terminal box B receives current.

' It is to be understood, that the embodiments disclosed above are merely examples for the realization of the present invention. Thus, it is also' possible to provide cooperation of the grounding tong 21 with a third conducting rail within the supporting rail, instead of arranging a metallic blank face at the inner wall of the supporting rail A, which third conducting rail is suitably in the center of the ceilingof the supporting rail.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only and not in a limiting sense.

Iclaim:

1. An illuminating device, comprising;

hollow carrying rails to be secured in, on or at a distance from a securing face;

sad hollow carrying rails being open in lateral direction and defining a hollow chamber;

conducting wires and electrical grounding conduit means received in said hollow chamber and accessible from the side;

at least one terminal box supporting at least one lighting unit and including a head portion received by said carrying rails;

said terminal box receiving a plurality of spring tongs projecting from said head portion and serving in pairs as holding tongs, contact tongs, and at least one grounding tong operatively connectable with said electrical grou nding conduit means;

a cam shaft means turnable by means of a switching member sitting on the outside of said terminal box, transfer all said tongs into an engaging operative and into an inoperative position, respectively;

said cam shaft means assuming an inoperative and three further operative positions;

the first of said three operative positions providing a prelocking position of said holding tongs operatively with said carrying rails and a contact position of said grounding tong with said electrical grounding conduit means;

the secondof said three operative positions providing a final clamping position of said holding tongs operatively with said carrying rails, while maintaining said contact position of said grounding tong; and

the third of said three operative positions providing, in addition to the positions of said tongs in said second of said three operative positions, a contact engagement of said contact tongs with said conducting wires in said carry rails. 

